Energine Marketinghttp://energinemarketing.com
How Can We Help Your Small Business?Thu, 16 Jun 2016 14:13:57 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.5.4Five Common Mistakes Small Businesses Make While Networkinghttp://energinemarketing.com/five-common-mistakes-small-businesses-make-while-networking/
Fri, 26 Jun 2015 18:45:05 +0000http://energinemarketing.com/?p=2943

Is Your Networking Working?

For small businesses that rely on word of mouth to bring in new clients and sales, networking is a vital part of marketing. But many small business owners find that the amount of time they spend networking doesn’t balance out with the small number of referrals they see as a result.

So what are people doing wrong? Here are five common networking mistakes that small businesses make:

Small Business Networking Mistake 1: Networking in the wrong places

When I started my business, I networked everywhere and anywhere. I attended mostly free networking events from Meetup and discovered quickly that my target market was not at these events. Understanding who your prospects are and where they network is key to getting in front of them. If your target market is made up of medical professionals, for example, attending a happy hour that has one medical professional in a room full of people may not be ideal for you. Instead, you should seek out events specifically geared toward medical professionals, where your chance of meeting prospects or great referral partners is higher.

Small Business Networking Mistake 2: Relying on only one networking platform

One mistake I see often is a business owner choosing a leads group or networking event that meets with the same people regularly…and then relying on only that one group to feed his or her business growth. The key to reaching new clients or customers is diversity of connections and relationships. I’m not saying that leads groups aren’t valuable or that you need to attend 20 different networking events each week, but you do need to create a balance between building new relationships and maintaining existing relationships.

Small Business Networking Mistake 3: Attending an event in hopes of making a sale

How often do you, as a small business owner, go to a networking event planning to buy something from someone? Yeah. The rest of the people at that networking event feel the same way. The purpose of a networking event is to meet new people and create mutually beneficial relationships that will develop over time. It’s not an ideal environment for you to try to make a sale.

Small Business Networking Mistake 4: Not following up

You attend a networking event, and you bring home a stack of business cards. You put the business cards on your desk. Three weeks later, you notice the stack and realize you can’t remember who most of those people are. Does this sound familiar? As I’ve mentioned already, the point in going to networking events is to build relationships. Those cards aren’t likely to turn into sales or referrals by sitting on your desk!

Small Business Networking Mistake 5: Making networking your only form of marketing

Depending on who you ask, it takes seven to 12 “touches” for a lead to become a sale. If you use networking as your only form of marketing, you will need to have seven cups of coffee or phone conversations—both of which can be time-consuming—to make one sale. Instead, diversify your marketing portfolio. Try social media, speaking and writing opportunities, or relevant advertising avenues. Find ways to keep in touch with your target market that accomplish your goals while using your time well.

Networking is indeed a great way to grow your business, but it’s also an easy way to waste time and money if you’re not careful. How effective is your networking?

]]>Do You Have the Right Mental Attitude?http://energinemarketing.com/do-you-have-the-right-mental-attitude/
Tue, 19 May 2015 05:01:32 +0000http://energinemarketing.com/new/?p=2886In February, I ordered a Passion Planner from a Kickstarter campaign. The planner was a great combination of brainstorming tool, creative idea storage, and planner. So far I love it.

Each week, there’s a different quote in my planner, and this was the quote for this week.

One of the challenges many small business owners face is keeping a positive perspective as they go through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. It can be so hard not to lapse into lack confidence, procrastination, anxiety, even depression when faced with an uncertain future.

One of the advantages to working in groups, both for your marketing and beyond, is to be able to share and confide with other business owners and to receive ideas and input to help you through the challenging times.

When I’m faced with a need for an attitude adjustment, one thing that helps me is action. Even just completing a few small tasks tends to re-energize me and pull me back on track.

How about you? What do you do to change your mental attitude?

]]>Twitter Translated…http://energinemarketing.com/twitter-translated/
http://energinemarketing.com/twitter-translated/#respondThu, 02 May 2013 17:48:12 +0000http://www.energinemarketing.com/?p=677One complaint I hear when I’m teaching business owners about Twitter is that they can’t understand the slang. As people venture out into the great world of Twitter, they learn very quickly that there’s a whole new language to learn. It can be confusing and intimidating to just jump right in, so here’s a quick translation key to common Twitter terms and vocabulary.

@username

If you put this symbol before someone’s username, you are speaking to them specifically. It is still a public tweet, but it’s calling them out, personally. It’s one way to hold a conversation on Twitter and is usually used as a reply to something someone else has said. Anyone who follows you will be able to see each tweet that includes the @ and your username. If you’re on Twitter’s site, you can also show or hide entire conversations, and @username is how Twitter understands that a given post belongs to that conversation.

RT @username

This is a retweet. It means you are sharing a tweet that someone else created with your followers. RT is followed by @username to identify the original poster. In the example below, the original message was created by @energinemarketing. Brand Constructors retweeted my tweet because it was relevant to their followers. They gave me credit by including my user name in the tweet.

#hashtag

The # symbol denotes a hashtag and assigns keywords or themes to your tweets. It allows people to search Twitter by specific subjects that interest them. You can assign any word to a hashtag, but some words are more likely to be searched for than others.

d @username

By putting a d in front of someone’s @username, you can send them a private message. They will see this message, but no one else on Twitter will. That being said, it’s probably wise to double check that you typed correctly before posting anything sensitive!

#FF

This stands for Follow Friday, and after this hashtag, you list usernames (each with @ in front of it) as a way to tell your followers “Here are some great people I think you should follow.” You can either do this as a #FF followed by a list of usernames, or you can do multiple #FF posts, each with just one username and a description of why you think people should follow that user. It’s a good way to acknowledge people you enjoy following and ask your followers to follow them. An added advantage is that when you #FF other people, they may do the same for you, and you would get exposure to all of their followers as well.

MT @username

This is a retweet that has been modified for length or content. For example, if you retweet something and add your own insight, that would be a MT.

Of course, this is just some of the most commonly used Twitter jargon. You may see a tweet that looks nothing at all like English but doesn’t use any of these. Try adding a few vowels to see if you can make sense of it. Because Twitter only allows you 140 characters, people will sometimes take any steps necessary to shorten their tweets!

]]>http://energinemarketing.com/twitter-translated/feed/0For Those Who Struggle to Figure out What to Say on Your Blog, Video, Social Media Posts…http://energinemarketing.com/content-process-map/
http://energinemarketing.com/content-process-map/#respondTue, 19 Mar 2013 17:45:55 +0000http://www.energinemarketing.com/?p=659Here’s a great tool to help!

The first part of the graphic shows you how to come up with ideas for content. The second part shows an example of what you might do with that content once you have it. There’s no one right way to post or right number of posts to makewhen sharing content, but this graphic shows you one option.

Whether you’re a chiropractor or nutritionist, acupuncturist or energy worker, hunting for content can really be a drag. But people ask you about your business all the time, right?

Then here’s a way you can use that to your advantage and make content development easy (and maybe even a bit fun)!

]]>http://energinemarketing.com/content-process-map/feed/0Social Media Success Storieshttp://energinemarketing.com/social-media-success-stories/
http://energinemarketing.com/social-media-success-stories/#respondMon, 21 Jan 2013 16:47:02 +0000http://www.energinemarketing.com/?p=643One of my clients wrote this great letter about how her company has benefitted from social media. I love client success stories and thought I’d pass them on!

Jennifer’s training led to many of our staff using social media on a regular basis. This is a crucial piece of our communications strategy going forward. Her clear, engaging, and informative training sessions sparked some of our staff (already slightly active in social media) to take their communications to the next level.

Two staff in particular are worth noting–Albert (Consultant) and Brad (VP of Communications).

Albert is currently our most prolific tweeter. Often tweeting and retweeting up to 10 times a day. Albert has also blogged for our company blog many times. Due to the increase in his presence on social media, he has been approached to become a blogger for another organization in our space. This opportunity turned into a content partnership for our organizations. Additionally, Albert was asked to be interviewed on a radio program. He’s entered a virtuous cycle of increased input into social media resulting in increased opportunities for himself and our organization.

Brad is a new addition to our tweeting line-up. But in a very short period of time he has become fluent in the language of Twitter and taken up the mantle with our senior leadership team through example about why social media is so important. He has been re-tweeted by several prominent organizations in our space. He attributes the ease of use of Hootsuite, a product Jennifer provided training on as one of the reasons he’s able to dedicate time and effort to social media on top of his other responsibilities.

– Jamie Moir, Internet Marketing Manager, Rocky Mountain Institute

I love seeing examples of how my clients use social media to achieve success!

I sometimes think that every social media account should come with a quick-and-dirty tutorial on etiquette. What’s considered good manners? What are best practices for how to treat people online? You’d think that this would be common sense. Courtesy is courtesy, no matter where you are, right?

Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

So here are a few tips on social media etiquette…feel free to pass these around to anyone you’ve noticed who could use the help!

Answer and respond. If someone comments on your Facebook page or asks you a question on Twitter, respond to them. Social media’s designed to be interactive. It’s social. And if you use it for only one-way conversations, you’re

Be a human being. You have a personality, right? Don’t be afraid to show it online. You’re interacting with other people, and most robots are boring (with some notable sci-fi exceptions).

Don’t be all about the selling. Yeah. You’re awesome. And, oh wow, you have a sale. Again. Woohoo. Social media is about making connections with real people, not trying to push your products and services on them. There’s a reason people fast-forward through commercials at any given opportunity.

Variety is the spice of life. Don’t bore your audience by posting nothing but inspirational quotes or links to outside articles. Keep your posts interesting and different, and you’ll keep people’s attention.

Be respectful. When you’re talking to someone whose eyes you don’t have to meet, it can be tempting to be overly casual or even rude when they disagree with you. Remember there’s a person on the other side of your computer. Be as respectful in your online life as you are in your in-person life. Maybe even more so.

Think first. As we’ve seen with celebrities and politicians everywhere, what you say social media platforms is public. Even if you delete it after the fact? Most likely *someone* saw your post. Think about what you say before you say it. Whether you’re considering posting something risqué or are about to post your political opinion, make sure that whatever you’re about to say is something you wouldn’t mind your mother (or the whole world) seeing.

What do you think? Are there any social media behaviors that drive you crazy? What would you add to this list?

]]>http://energinemarketing.com/social-media-etiquette/feed/0Finding the Fire in Your Small Business Marketinghttp://energinemarketing.com/finding-the-fire-in-your-small-business-marketing/
http://energinemarketing.com/finding-the-fire-in-your-small-business-marketing/#respondFri, 03 Aug 2012 01:01:58 +0000http://www.energinemarketing.com/?p=583This week, I was asked why I do what I do. As I was answering, I realized that how I became a small business owner is a great example of why I work with small businesses!

For nine years, I worked as a marketer for both small and large companies in the architecture/engineering/construction industry. When the economy tanked, I lost my job. Since I’d been talking about starting my own business for years, I figured it was a good time to just do it.

My greatest work experiences had been with small businesses. I loved the passion and drive that small business owners had, and I loved the sense of community that builds among small business employees. But starting my own business was unlike anything I’d done before. I had no idea how one even went about starting a business. All I knew was that I wanted to help small businesses with their marketing.

I believe that small, local businesses are the most sustainable solutions to our challenged economy. I needed to figure out how I could use my own passion and skill to help. Most small businesses owners go into business because they either love what they do or because they’re awesome at it (or both!). That doesn’t mean they know how to market and sell their services. So, for me, this was a perfect fit: a group of people who have fire and passion about their business, who have a vested interest in succeeding, and who I could help get there.

I get that. I have that same fire myself. The marketing and social media services I provide are driven by my own passion and energy.

And that passion is vital to successful marketing.

For example, when I am teaching a client how to use social media, I always tell them to tap into their passion for what they do or what it offers. What are their clients excited about, and what do they want to discuss? Provide that to them in your social media marketing. The same thing is true of networking, giving presentations, writing white papers or articles, advertising, or creating marketing collateral.

And fire is contagious! If you are passionate about something, everyone you speak to will feel that. What’s more, if you tap into your clients’ passion and fire to meet their needs, you will increase the value you’re providing to them.

So what’s your fire? And your clients?

]]>http://energinemarketing.com/finding-the-fire-in-your-small-business-marketing/feed/0Vacation!http://energinemarketing.com/vacation/
http://energinemarketing.com/vacation/#respondFri, 27 Jul 2012 02:12:46 +0000http://www.energinemarketing.com/?p=570The reason why there’s no blog post this week…
Have a great week, everyone!s
]]>http://energinemarketing.com/vacation/feed/0Why Have a Facebook Page If You Already Have a Website?http://energinemarketing.com/why-have-a-facebook-page-if-you-already-have-a-website/
http://energinemarketing.com/why-have-a-facebook-page-if-you-already-have-a-website/#respondThu, 19 Jul 2012 19:38:22 +0000http://www.energinemarketing.com/?p=563I recently did a 10-minute presentation to a referral group I belong to. One of the questions I was asked is “Why would a company need to have a Facebook page if they already have a website?” I thought that was an interesting question because, social media of any kind actually plays an entirely different role in your marketing strategy than your website does.

Your Website

Your website’s purpose is to inform visitors who you are as a business, what services you provide, and how you can help them. It’s where you post content that is interesting to your target market and any upcoming promotions, events, or specials. Your website is also a gateway to bring in business. For some businesses, your website is the way you bring in business.

But for most people, your website is primarily a one-way communication tool. Outside of the occasional blog comments, there really isn’t a lot of interactivity on your basic business website.

Facebook

Unlike your website, social networking (Facebook, in this case) is about interaction and relationship-building. For a small business owner, particularly one who provides a professional service, a good portion of your revenue comes from repeat business and word of mouth. Social networking is exactly that. Networking.

Like your referral groups, Chambers of Commerce, and professional organizations, social networking is a way to create and nourish relationships with your target market, whether that be your clients and prospects, teaming partners, or referral sources.

Facebook is a way for you to engage with your target market, build a community around a shared interest or passion, and provide added value to the people or businesses who are interested in your services. It’s a way to develop a relationship with your clients and prospects and inrease their know, like, and trust.

]]>http://energinemarketing.com/why-have-a-facebook-page-if-you-already-have-a-website/feed/0Giving Your Marketing Content Legs…Or Time Saving Techniques for Small Business Marketinghttp://energinemarketing.com/getting-legs/
http://energinemarketing.com/getting-legs/#respondFri, 13 Jul 2012 01:14:07 +0000http://www.energinemarketing.com/?p=549One of the challenges that small business owners face with all of their marketing—and in particular their content development—is finding time. Small business owners wear many hats, and when you have clients beating down your door (hopefully!) on top of HR challenges and quarterly taxes due, finding time to sit down and write a few blog posts can be just crazy.

But content development is a tremendously important part of your marketing strategy. It provides value to your clients/customers and exposure to new prospects and referral sources. It even helps your Google ranking (search engine optimization or SEO).

But even with all the reasons why you should develop content, your time is still limited. So how can you make the best use of your time?

By getting “legs” out of your marketing content.

Instead of writing one blog post and then ending it there, figure out how you can repurpose content.

For example, all of us have frequent questions that arise from our clients or prospects over and over. Write down the questions as people ask them. These are ready-made topics for your content. So how can you get more out of one topic?

Take one of the questions and make a 60-second video. Doesn’t have to be fancy. You can use your smartphone or your $100 flip video camera. Let’s say your topic is “10 Questions to ask when hiring an accountant.”

Post that video on Facebook, Twitter, your website, and YouTube.

Transcribe that video, tweak a bit here and there, and post it two months later as a blog post.

Take those top 10 questions to ask and turn them into 10 Facebook posts or tweets.

Turn the audio portion of your video into an mp3 and make a podcast.

Add to your blog post, and turn it into an article for a local publication.

Why recreate the wheel if you don’t have to? That was a list of six different ways to use one topic that would take significantly less time than writing six different blog posts on six different topics.